49ers at Cowboys Week 10 preview: Keenan Allen debuts, Deebo Samuel returns and Mike Evans is out

The 7-1 49ers visit the 4-5 Cowboys on Sunday (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox, AT&T Stadium) with a reshuffled receiver room: Mike Evans is out with an Achilles issue, Deebo Samuel is cleared to return from a hamstring injury with no designation, and deadline addition Keenan Allen is in line for his 49ers debut. Left tackle Trent Williams is questionable with a shoulder injury. Dallas gets George Pickens back off the injury report but is again short on defense, with five players ruled out and cornerback DaRon Bland questionable. With one of the highest totals on the Week 10 board, this is the late-window game fantasy managers and bettors will be watching most closely.

The 49ers receiver room, reshuffled

Evans did not practice all week with what has been described as Achilles tendinitis, and Kyle Shanahan called him week to week. San Francisco appears to be taking the cautious route, and Evans is officially out.

Samuel is the counterweight. Shanahan said the veteran is clear to play, and Sunday will be his first game since the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 5. He carries no injury designation on the final report.

Allen arrives from Indianapolis, where he caught 40 of 58 targets for 351 yards and a touchdown in eight games. Shanahan tempered expectations this week, indicating Allen needs time to learn the offense before he is fully turned loose, and general manager John Lynch said Allen's grasp of the playbook will determine how much he plays in Dallas. Brock Purdy was more upbeat, saying publicly that Allen already understands the team's plays and formations.

San Francisco also listed cornerbacks Nate Hobbs (adductor) and Upton Stout (shoulder), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (knee) and defensive tackle CJ West (knee) as questionable.

Fantasy read: San Francisco

George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey remain the engine. With Evans out and two receivers working back into rhythm, both should command heavy volume. McCaffrey is a locked-in RB1, and Kittle is a top-tier TE1 in a game with this kind of scoring expectation.

Deebo Samuel is a WR3 with upside. His first game back from a hamstring injury comes with some snap-count risk, but his ability to generate yards after the catch and his occasional rushing work give him a stable floor when he is on the field.

Keenan Allen is a WR4 in his debut. Projections from outside outlets ranged from WR3 to WR4, and the coaching staff's language points to a limited first-week package. The volume could come at Kittle's expense in future weeks, but not yet. Hold him on benches.

Brock Purdy is a QB1. The 49ers' passing game has averaged about 241 yards per game, and Dallas' defense is depleted. Williams' shoulder is the one concern: if he sits, Purdy's protection on the blind side weakens against a Dallas pass rush that added Von Miller.

Dallas: Pickens back, defense thin

Pickens is off the injury report and will play after missing Week 9 with a hamstring injury. In that game, CeeDee Lamb carried the passing game with 10 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, and Dak Prescott threw for 335 yards and two scores, per reports. Prescott has strung together three straight top-10 fantasy weeks, according to one fantasy preview, and he gets a full receiving corps back.

The cost is at tight end and on defense. Jake Ferguson (knee, ankle) is out, along with running back Tyler Goodson, receiver Jonathan Mingo, linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku and safety P.J. Locke (concussion). Juanyeh Thomas is doubtful, and Bland popped up Friday as a limited participant with an ankle injury and is questionable. Joey Porter Jr. is also questionable, with at least one outlet describing him as unlikely to play.

Fantasy read: Lamb is a WR1, and Pickens is a WR2 with a big-play ceiling now that he is healthy. Prescott is a QB1 in what projects as a shootout. Ferguson's absence removes Dallas' most reliable short-area target, which should funnel a few extra looks to Lamb. Avoid the Cowboys defense: a secondary missing multiple starters is facing McCaffrey, Kittle and Samuel.

Betting angle

San Francisco is a road favorite of roughly 4 to 4.5 points, with Vegas Insider listing an opening line of 49ers -4.5 and a total of 55.5 that briefly touched 56.5. Compare.bet reported the spread grew from 3.5 earlier in the week. The 49ers are 5-3 against the spread this season and have covered four straight meetings with Dallas; the Cowboys are 4-5 against the spread.

The total is the number to think about. Both offenses are mostly healthy at their most important positions, Dallas' secondary is battered, and San Francisco's corners have four questionable listings. That points toward points on both sides. The spread is harder: the 49ers' line has moved toward them despite Evans' absence, and Williams' status could tilt it back. Verdexed's DFS coverage has already featured this game as a main-slate stack. For Verdexed's model view, see the NFL predictions page at /nfl/predictions and the weekly picks at /blog/nfl-week-10-picks-2026.

What's next

Inactives arrive at 2:55 p.m. ET, and Williams and Bland are the two names to check. After that, watch Allen's snap share and route participation; a meaningful role in his first game would make him a priority hold going forward, while a handful of snaps would confirm he is a bench stash for another week. The takeaway: start McCaffrey, Kittle, Purdy, Lamb, Pickens and Prescott with confidence, use Samuel as a WR3, keep Allen benched for his debut, and fade the Cowboys defense entirely.